Semiconductor devices such as logic and memory devices are typically fabricated by a sequence of processing steps applied to a specimen. The various features and multiple structural levels of the semiconductor devices are formed by these processing steps. For example, lithography among others is one semiconductor fabrication process that involves generating a pattern on a semiconductor wafer. Additional examples of semiconductor fabrication processes include, but are not limited to, chemical-mechanical polishing, etch, deposition, and ion implantation. Multiple semiconductor devices may be fabricated on a single semiconductor wafer and then separated into individual semiconductor devices.
Metrology processes are used at various steps during a semiconductor manufacturing process to detect defects on wafers to promote higher yield. Optical metrology techniques offer the potential for high throughput without the risk of sample destruction. A number of optical metrology based techniques including scatterometry and reflectometry implementations and associated analysis algorithms are commonly used to characterize critical dimensions, film thicknesses, composition, overlay and other parameters of nanoscale structures.
Flash memory architectures are transitioning from two dimensional floating-gate architectures to fully three dimensional geometries. In some examples, film stacks and etched structures are very deep (e.g., up to six micrometers in depth). Such high aspect ratio structures create challenges for film and CD measurements. The ability to measure the critical dimensions that define the shapes of holes and trenches of these structures is critical to achieve desired performance levels and device yield. In addition, many semiconductor architectures employ thick, opaque material layers such as amorphous-carbon layers, tungsten layers, and hard mask layers. Illumination light in the vacuum ultraviolet, ultraviolet, visible, and short infrared wavelength ranges (i.e., wavelengths below approximately 1 micrometer) do not sufficiently penetrate these opaque layers, resulting in measurement signals with low signal to noise ratio or no measureable signal at all.
Many optical techniques suffer from low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), as only a small fraction of the illumination light is able to reach the bottom of high aspect ratio features, and reflect upwards to the detector. Thus, many available high-throughput metrology techniques are unable to reliably perform CD and film measurements of high aspect ratio structures. Critical dimension, small angle X-ray scatterometry (CD-SAXS), normal incidence reflectometry, and scatterometry are being explored as measurement solutions for high aspect ratio structures, but development is still on-going.
Cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is a low throughput, destructive technique that is not suitable for inline metrology. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is limited in its ability to measure high aspect ratio structures and has relatively low throughput. CD-SAXS has not yet been demonstrated to achieve high throughput capabilities required by the semiconductor industry. Model based infrared reflectometry (MBIR) has been used for metrology of high aspect ratio DRAM structures, but the technique lacks the resolution provided by shorter wavelengths and the measurement spot sizes are too large for semiconductor metrology. See “Measuring deep-trench structures with model-based IR,” by Gostein et al., Solid State Technology, vol. 49, no. 3, Mar. 1, 2006, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
Optical CD metrology currently lacks the ability to measure the detailed profile of structures with micron scale depths and lateral dimensions in a relatively small spot (e.g., less than 50 microns, or even more preferably, less than 30 microns) at high throughput. U.S. Pat. No. 8,860,937, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, describes infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry techniques that are suitable for characterization of high aspect ratio structures. However, the described techniques suffer from long measurement times for measurements spanning the ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths, wavelength stability limitations, and limited range of infrared wavelengths during operation.
In summary, ongoing reductions in feature size, increasing depths of structural features, and increasing use of opaque material layers impose difficult requirements on optical metrology systems. Optical metrology systems must meet high precision and accuracy requirements for increasingly complex targets at high throughput to remain cost effective. In this context, speed of broadband illumination and data collection, and range of infrared wavelengths have emerged as critical, performance limiting issues in the design of optical metrology systems suitable for high aspect ratio structures and structures employing opaque material layers. Thus, improved metrology systems and methods to overcome these limitations are desired.